Refrigerant valve



April 9, 1935. w. T. WEAVER l REFRIGERANT VALVE IN1/EmommuwzzvzawfWMMQLM Filed Nov. 4, 1932 A TTORNEYS Patented 9, 1935 l Y UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE REERIGERANT VALVE Willard '.l. Weaver, Chicago, Ill.Application November 4, 1932, Serial No. 641,131

" 'z Claims. (ci. 251-87) My invention relates to valves, and moreporthe refrigerator. A service man is usually called ticularly to thoseused for the control of refrigerto lfind the seat of the trouble, thistask being a ant gases, and my main object is to provide a valvedisagreeable one and more or less` dangerous, as

' which makes a tight closure at all times. the handling and testingl ofa leaky valve involves A further object of the invention is to designthe escape of more gas to Whichthe service man 5 Athe novel valve withsimple andv effective means is subjected. Further.: leakage of gas isfrefor the control of the refrigerant gases for service, quently causedby the corrosive eiects of the gas inspecting and testing purposes. Yupon the steel valvestem, the latter becomingv A. still further objectcfthe invention isto propitted to theextent that it sticks and cannot bel0 videavalve which utilizes ground contacting surclosed tightly. sI'hus, vit will be evident that the l0 faces of maximum area withoutimpairing the servicing'of the control valve is a task which isfacilities fory the passage of they gases, whereby more or lessdangerous to the lservice man and to secure ample closure and capacityfactors.v requires expert and rapid handling if poisoning Another objectof the invention is to embody `or suffocation is to be avoided. It has,therefore,

in the novel valve ascreen for filtering and divestbeen my intention to`design the-,novel valve on 15 ing the gases of solid particles and otherimpuriprinciples eliminating the Vdifficulties outlined ties which mayimpair the passage of the gases above, whereby the valve maycontinue inservice throughthe refrigerating system. Withoutrequiring` appreciableattention and pro-V An additional object of the invention is toconviding a high factor of safety when any servicing struct thenovel'valve with few and simple parts or inspection thereofis necessary.1 Y, 20 which are iirmly assembled and contribute to AReferringspeciiicallyto the drawing, the novely make the Valve an ecientappliance; Valve is essentially composed 0f`a base l0, and

, With the above objects in View and any others a head Il. These partsare `preferably made that may suggest themselves from the specicaofbrass, and the meeting faces of the head and tion and claims to follow,ya better understanding base are iinished and ground to a iiat. iit.'lThey 25 of the invention may be had by reference to the head ll iscircular and is made with an vexraccompanying drawing, in whichternaliiange Ha in the zone of its assembly Fig. 1 is afront elevation of thenovel valve; with Athe base, the flange being held tov the lat- Fig. 2is aside view from the left; ter by the application oiga ring 'I2 whichre- ,30 Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2; ceives screws I3whose shanks thread into the 30 Fig. 4 isacross section on the line 4-4of Fig. 1; base as indicated in Fig. -5. To rfurther insure Fig. 5 is ahorizontal section on the line 5-5 of the assembly againstleakage, I cutthe contact- Fig. 3; and ing surfaces of the head andbase with a num-Fig. 6 is a vertical section on the lineG--G or ber of matchingV-grooves Hx which are llecl Fig. 4. with oil beforethe parts areassembled. f `35 The control valve in domestic refrigerating sys- Thebase is made at one side with ane-shaped tems formsa very important partthereof, uncpassage` iila to the outer end of which `is vaptioning toypermit or cut oii the passage of the replied that pipe l5 of therefrigerating unit which frigerant gases, and to opencommunication withafeeds the gas to the valve. The inner end of k branch pipe for testingpurposes. Usually, valves the passage lila opens directly upon the head40 for this purpose are made with a steel stem, alead H, and iscontinued therein with a passage lib'. packing and a packing nut,thistype of construc- The latter takes a transverse course in the cen-.tion being conventional in needle valves. `I-Iowter of the head, asindicated at Hc, and a. reever, when the valve isused for the dischargeturn continuation l Id in the direction of the function in therefrigerant system, it becomes very base lil. Opposite the continuationHd, the Y45 hot during the operating cycle, whereby the steel base ismade with an L-shaped passage I 0d, one stem is egcpandedand the leadpacking forced to of whose ends opens outwardly and receives an expandby the stem. When the compressor of the outlet pipe i4. In order thatthe joint of this system completes its operation and stops, the pipewith the base may be hermetical, I groovef valve cools orf. The steelstem will contractfbut the inner portion of the pipe annularly, asr in--50 the lead packing does not, so that a slight space dicated at Ma andprovide a matching circular develops between. the stem and the packing.This groove lilb in the base l0. This groove is kconcauses asmall gasleak, and refrigerant gasesbe- ,tinued with a straight extensionV Incopening ying noxious, such aleakisinore or less ofamenace at the outerend of the base. When the pipe .55 vto those who approach or pass in thevicinity of i4 has been fitted, it is only necessary to pourk 65 andseal the pipe tothe base. `A continuous passage is thus formed from theinlet pipe I5 through `the assembledV valve for the Yrefrigerant gas inorder that it maybe delivered to the next unit f in the system. v

' removed for cleaning or replacement, and this :a screw plug i8while-in service.

positions.

The valve passage just described is tted in Vits center 'portion IIcwith a screen cylinder I6 which is intended'as a filter for therefrigerant gas and prevents dirt and foreign solid matter and lintfrompassing through the valve. The valve head II has a tapped opening Ilein-its outer side through which direct access ishad to the filter screenI,that the latter may be opening is tightly closed by a screw plug I1when the valve is in service. Also, the'lower part of the passage Ita inthe base I is formed with a tapped dischargevopening I lie for drainingthe valve of the gas in either the'vapori'zed or liqueedstate, thisopening'being closedby Y Y The' inlet portion ofY thel valve base I!! iswidened with perforated flanges If which apply for a fit or union withthe similarly constructed part I5 in the conventional manner. Y l

YWhile the screws I3 serve to .hold the head II firmly to the base IllVvby means. of the ring I2, the pressure of the latterl is such Athatthehead Il may be turned one or the other'direction with a fairly snug iit,the headbeing reduced on its outer side with parallel ledges Ilj forrthe application of a wrench. Y The novel valve is designed forthecontrol of the flow from the passage Illa to the passage IIld by meansof the head 'II. j The control does not only involve Vopen and shutposin f tions, but also communication with an auxiliary '40 duct Ig inthe base I0 Whichleads to'a gauge pipe I9. VAsfshown,theheadII- is in aposition to allow full Vcommunication between the passages Ilia andIIIcZ.V Lookinglat Fig. 3 with the position of the head II in mind,'itwill be seen that 'a clockwise quarter-turn of the head will carry itspassages IIb and I Id entirely away from the 'passages Illa and Iildofthe base, effectinga complete shut off. -The' passages IIb and I I dappear finely dotted in their changed Should an test of the gas bedesired, the Yhead isturned from the original position only Va shortdistance in a counter clock-wise direction, whereby to place thepassages IIb and IId in the positions indicated by dotV and dashcircles.Y Here it will be seen thatthe passage IIzZ` registers Vbothwith the base passage I Ud fand with the duct |09, permitting acommunication vbetween the outlet pipe Iii-and the gauge 'pipe I9.

At the same time, the passage IIb is in. partial registration With thepassage Illa whereby to permit the gas to enter and continue throughthervalve. vWhen it is'necessary to replenish or charge `the system withgas, the charging is doneV by way ofthe gauge pipe I9 .and into thepassage Illd. To do this, the valve is given a furtherturn in the sameor counter clockwise direction to the long dotted fposition. Here it isvseeny that the passage I Id has departed entirely from the passage AIildin vthe base, so thatrthe voutletpipe I is cut oi. 'I'he passage IIbhasV likewise departed from the passage Ita, but secures a connectionwith the lati ter by means ofa small duct Ish. opening on the face `ofthebase.k The valve head thus forms aV connection between the pipe I8and,v the pasform of an arcuate slot IIg cut in the periphery of thevalve head and receiving the inner end of a screw driven through thering I2. In connection with this feature it will be advisableto mark thehead with suitable indicia representing the positions to which it may beset for the purposes outlined.

It will be seen that the above valve constitutes a sturdyV and compactappliance to replace the stem valve usually employed in the refrigerantgas line. The valve has no steel stem to corrode and stick and has butone moving part'which makes a ground joint with the base of the valve.Further, the valve employs no packing, gaskets or adjusting nuts, andits action requires but a half turn to accomplish all its functions, ascomparedY to a number of turns inthe case of the stem valve'.

Further, the valve is self-sealing and embodies a screen which stopsdirt, sediment and lint from `passing into the condenser of the systemto clog the line carrying the liquefied gas, Vallowing the passages toremain clear for the maximum eiliciency of the valve. Further, inaddition to the vbroad surface of the ground joint, I employ-the seal ofther oil grooves,Vv so that any oilV passing through the system will besupplemented by suchV seal to prevent the leakage of gas. Further, thenovel valve offers less resistance tothe A'massage of "liquefied gasesbecause it hasopen, large and ccmmunicating'passages rather thantheobstruction of a closing stem as in the standard valve# Such a stemusually becomes a barrier to the passage of the liquefied gas because ofthe yaccumulation of rust scales, sediment, dirt or lint in the closingzone. Further, it is evident the novel valve is made of few and simpleparts andso constructed that rit may be. easily `shut of! in case oftesting or charging, whereby to eliminate the leakage of the noxious gasand thedanger occasioned thereby. Finally, itis apparent thatl the valvemay be easily taken apart or opened for inspection or repair withoutstopping the refrigerator or removing the gas.V Y

Icl'aimtl. A refrigerant valve comprisng a, base, a head grouped inflatly-ground relation to one end of the base, the latter having inletand outlet pas-` sages opening on the head, the head having an toreceivev a gauge pipe and'whose inner end opensV on the ground surfaceat a point opposite the opening of the by-pass duct, the ends of `theinter-nal opening in the head being of such size as to` bridge both thepassages in the base andthe operiings of the ducts at the" groundsurface when the head is given a `relatively short partial turn.

2. A refrigerant valve comprising a base,ja head grouped inflatly-ground relation to one end of the base, the latter having inletand outlet passages opening on the head, the head having an internalA`passage adapted to communicate with said passages and being rotatableto remove its internal passage from communication with the passages inthe base, the latter having a by-pass duct from the inlet passage andopening on the ground surface at one side of the center of rotation ofthe head, the base also being bored yfrom one side with a duct Whoseouter end is adapted to receive a gauge pipe and Whose inner end openson the ground surface at a point opposite the opening of the by-passduct, one end of the internal opening in the head departing from theoutlet passage in the base, and making communication with the gauge pipeduct, and the other end of the opening in the head making communicationwith both the inlet passage of the base andthe by-pass duct When thehead is given a relatively long partial turn.

WILLARD T. WEAVER.

